Snowball Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup blanched almonds (skin removed)
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 220 g butter, room temperature
• 1 tbsp bourbon
• 2 tsp rum essence
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 and 1/4 cups premium flour
• 0.5 tsp fine salt
• 1 tbsp grated nutmeg + extra for serving

Preparation:

1. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Place the almonds and 1/2 cup powdered sugar in the bowl of a food processor and pulse for 2 minutes. Add the butter and pulse until smooth, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the bourbon, rum essence, and vanilla extract and pulse until smooth. Add the flour and salt and pulse until the dough forms a ball.
3. Using a heaping teaspoon, scoop the dough and roll it into 2.5 cm diameter balls. Place them on prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2.5 cm apart. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 175°C.
5. Bake, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until the cookies are firm to the touch, completely dry, and beginning to crack slightly on the surface, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes; they will firm up as they cool.
6. Meanwhile, sprinkle the nutmeg and the remaining 1.5 cups of powdered sugar into a pie plate or wide baking dish and mix well. Gently roll the warm cookies in the sugar mixture until evenly coated; the cookies need to be warm enough for the first layer of powdered sugar to adhere. Cool the cookies completely on a wire rack, about 30 minutes, then roll them again in the sugar mixture until the cookies turn white. Sprinkle the cookies with additional nutmeg. Store cookies in an airtight container, dusted with powdered sugar, for up to a week..